Homeowners have been told to expect another slide in property prices after the general election as fears grow that rising unemployment and a second wave of mortgage shortages will suffocate the fragile recovery in the housing market

House prices fell 1.5 per cent in February after seven months of uninterrupted growth, according to the Halifax, the UK’s biggest mortgage lender. It says that buyers were deterred from visiting estate agents by the severe cold weather and changes to stamp duty.